Myristica fragrans

Common Name: Nutmeg, Mace

Family: Myristicaceae

Country of Origin: Banda Islands, a tiny archipelago in Eastern Indonesia (Moluccas)

Uses: Nutmeg is not a nut, but the kernel of an apricot-like fruit. Mace is an arillus, a thin leathery tissue between the stone and the pulp; it is bright red to purple when harvested, but after drying changes to a amber.

The pulp of the nutmeg fruit is tough, almost woody, and very sour. In Indonesia, it is used to make a delicious jam with pleasant nutmeg aroma (selei buah pala).

Nutmeg contains about 10% essential oil, which is mostly composed of terpene hydrocarbons (sabine and pinenes; furthermore camphene, p-cymene, phellandrene, terpinene, limonene, myrcene, together 60 to 90%), terpene derivatives (linalool, geraniol, terpineol, together 5 to 15%) and phenylpropanoids (myristicine, elemicine, safrol, together 2 to 20%). Of the latter group, myristicine (methoxy-safrol, typically 4%) is responsible for the hallucinogenic effect of nutmeg.

Accession #: 446

Accession Date: 2011-05-18 00:00:00

Bloom Status: 🪴 Not Flowering

Source: Smith College

Provenance: Smith# 320-07 Grown from seed from Fruit Lover's Nursery, Pahoa, Hawaii

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Subclass: magnoliids

Order: Magnoliales

Family: Myristicaceae